Suchergebnisse

OBJECTIVES: Irrational use of antibiotics is a major driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), exacerbated by dispensing of antibiotics without a prescription especially for typically viral infections. Such dispensing is common despite legislation. Pharmacists play a key role advising on medicines especially in countries where most patients seek pharmacist help as they cannot afford both physician fees and medicines. Consequently, the objective was to ascertain skills and knowledge of pharmacists regarding antibiotics when patients present to them with typically viral infections. METHODS: Qualitative cross-sectional survey among 370 community pharmacists in Albania. Topics carefully selected and validated. Main outcome measure was current knowledge of antibiotics and current legislation. RESULTS: Variable knowledge regarding antibiotics among community pharmacists. 54% knew colds are caused by viruses and 93% that antibiotics are ineffective against influenza. However, 18% believed if colds last for more than 4days an antibiotic can bring a patient back to work, and only 13% stated antibiotics are ineffective against viruses. Encouragingly, 92.5% knew penicillins can cause anaphylactic shocks, 74% that antibiotics kill bacteria that cause infections and only 7% that antibiotic misuse cannot cause AMR. However, 13% stated the main disadvantage of antibiotics is they are ineffective against viruses and 93% admitted they had no treatment protocols to consult in their daily work to direct patient care. CONCLUSION: Encouraging signs regarding pharmacists' knowledge of antibiotics in Albania; however, concerns. Instigating educational programmes among patients and pharmacists and greater enforcement of legislation should reduce AMR rates in Albania and across countries.

Food production systems are undergoing a structural transformation towards a sustainable resilient state, offering opportunities for economic benefits, employment creation, and enhanced food safety and security. Governing this sustainability transition is a complex process which calls for interventions at all policy levels, including higher education. Adopting an agri-food systems perspective, the Western Balkans countries are facing challenges which are mostly related to issues such as the modernization of food engineering and food management practices, the organic agriculture production, the post-harvest processes, the supply chain management, the corresponding environmental footprint, etc. Tackling with the afore-mentioned topics requires educational interventions (among other actions), which may contribute effectively towards the specific sustainability transition. To this purpose, and in light of these countries' current convergence, with the European Union, the Erasmus+ "STEPS" project offered a unique opportunity for collaboration between eleven (11) European partners, who led to the development of a joint Master of Sciences Program entitled "Sustainable Food Production Systems" with two directions: "Food Engineering and Food Safety", and "Food Production Systems Management". The paper sheds light on the development process of the curriculum, providing evidence on the design process, the structure and the syllabus of the courses, the necessary accreditation process, and the benefits of the new joint postgraduate program.